Our Ancestor's Somber Story: Les Enfants

Amalia Amaki

American, born 1949

Les Enfants, 1999

Gelatin silver prints with applied color, buttons and beads

Dimensions: 52-1/4 x 35 inches, each panel

Purchase with funds raised in recognition of the 25th anniversary of Nexus Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia and gifts from the H. B. and Doris Massey Charitable Trust and Lucinda W. Bunnen and Robert L. Bunnen, 2000.14 a-c

Amalia Amaki’s Les Enfants is a collage split in three panels that depicts Black children doing the Cakewalk, a dance they were forced to perform for white audiences. The Cakewalk was performed during slavery and the children were compelled to do an action that would otherwise be enjoyable under untroubled circumstances. The hands used throughout the work connect to sequins that act as puppet strings controlling the children--alluding to the authority over the children. The contrast between the dull and vibrant colors that are employed both display the downcast situation the children are in and the solemn expressions on their faces.